Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra

The leading professional Chinese instrumental ensemble of the world, the 85-strong Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra returns to New York’s Avery Fisher Hall with large-scale masterpieces by Chinese composers Tan Dun, Zhao Jiping, and Peng Xiuwen.

With a spectacular program that mixes the ancient with the avant-garde, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra is led by artistic director and principal conductor Yan Huichang, a graduate of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music who had headed China’s most distinguished ensembles–including the China Central Traditional Orchestra–before taking the helm at the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra in 1997.

The Chinese Orchestra, a modern adaptation that extends the Chinese traditional instrumental ensemble from an average of 10 instrumentalists to 80 players, has now developed a unique profile that transcends boundaries or classifications such as “orchestra,” “classical music,” and “world music.” On the one hand, it is modeled after the Western orchestra, with a similar layout and instrument sections, including some lower string instruments that were specially adapted from their Western counterparts and modernized and fortified Chinese wind instruments. On the other hand, it has developed a repertoire that is distinctly varied: from harmonized folk song arrangements of the 1950s and 1960s, epoch-making revolutionary works of the Cultural Revolution, to avant-garde and modern works by the current generation of Chinese composers.

Conductor: Yan Huichang
ZHANG Shiye (arranger) Grand Victory (Wind & Percussion Folk Music from Shanxi Province)

ZHAO Jiping Silk Road Fantasia Suite for Guanzi and Chinese Orchestra
Soloist: Guo Yazhi

TAN Dun Fire Ritual for Huqin and Chinese Orchestra
Soloist: Wong On-Yuen

PENG Xiuwen Fantasia on Terra Cotta Warriors